Watchdog Group: Courthouses Not Needed

Investigative online newspaper Tennessee Watchdog warns that taxpayers could spend more than $165 million to replace federal courthouses in Nashville and Chattanooga even though a new audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests replacements are not needed. The GAO report, according to the paper, found fault with the Nashville plan, saying the current building has more courtrooms than it does judges. In Chattanooga, it found that the current facility has the same number of judges and courtrooms. One of the GAO’s requirements for supporting new courthouses is the need for at least two additional courtrooms. Tennessee is not alone in the assessment. The report found that of the 12 courthouses planned across the country, only two are really needed.